2022 International King Kong Grip Challenge

[Eric Roussin]

10th Annual International King Kong Grip Challenge

"The Biggest Grip Sport Contest on the Planet" 

Main Contest Date: Saturday, October 29th, 2022

Multi-City Mega Contest

For the first time in King Kong history, FIVE events will be contested!

Events:

2.25” Crusher (FBBC) – 6” Lift
Grab Ball (FBBC) – 6” Lift
Finnish Ball (Otevoima) – 13” Lift
Flask (Barrel Strength Systems) – 7.5” Lift
Little Big Horn (IronMind) – 6” Lift

Divisions:

●    Men: 59kg / 66kg / 74kg / 83kg / 93kg / 105kg / 120kg / 120+kg
●    Men’s Masters 50+ Years: Open
●    Women: 57 kg / 72kg / 84kg / 100kg / 100+kg

Youth Divisions (offered at individual promoters' discretion):

•    Boys 7 and under
•    Boys 8-10
•    Boys 11-13
•    Boys 14-15
•    Boys 16-17
•    Girls 7 and under
•    Girls 8-10
•    Girls 11-13
•    Girls 14-15
•    Girls 16-17

Divisions not officially offered in the contest will still be tracked for GSI records purposes.

Awards (open classes)

Custom King Kong gorilla sculptures for the following:
●    All class champions
●    The overall top lifter in each event
●    The Exceptional Lifter (best pound-for-pound performance)
●    The overall men's and women's champions ("The King Kong of Grip" and "The Queen Kong of Grip")
 
Custom gorilla medals for 2nd and 3rd place finishers in each class 

Youth awards: Medals for top 3 in each division

Reverse strongman scoring will be used.

Confirmed Venues (So Far):

North America:

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Eric Roussin
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada – Brad Provick
Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada – Darren Hennig
Sioux City, Iowa, USA – Andrew Pantke
Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, USA – Jedd Johnson
Fort Worth, Texas, USA – Adam Glass
Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA – Nick Sanders
Bethesda, Ohio, USA - Mike Saffell
Woodbury, Minnesota, USA - Joel Dircks
New Jersey, USA - Tim Butler and Cesare Ricchezza (Chez)
Lecompton, Kansas, USA - Chad Gustin and Ben Edwards
Vancouver, Washington, USA - Frank and Addam Chaudoin
Pullman, Washington, USA - Mike Wilfong
Carbondale, Colorado, USA - Steve Millard and Jemery Everding
Aberdeen, North Carolina, USA - Zach Mullins
El Segundo (Los Angeles), California, USA -Will Giuliani

South America:

Santiago, Chile - Bruno Gonzalez Andres and Oscar Celis

Europe:

Kuusamo, Finland – Matti Siikaluoma
Luumaki, Finland – Arto Joronen
Järvenpää, Finland – Harri Tolonen
Arendal, Norway – Thomas Larsen
Hertfordshire, England – Jerome Bloom
Kent, England – Jenn Tibbenham
St. Petersburg, Russia – Alexander Andreev
Ukraine - Ivan Pupchenko

Oceania:

Regents Park, Australia – David Butterworth
Minto, Australia - Thomas Claxton
Blue Mountains, Australia - Ben Cossey

 

More venues to be added as they are confirmed....

[Alexander Andreev]

Sounds great! Frankly, I missed Flask previous year.

[insane.warrior]

Hype!

 
@Eric Roussinwhat about Flask?

1HP or 2HP?

Edited February 8, 2022 by insane.warrior

[Andrew P]

Flask will be a 1H Pinch

[Eric Roussin]

1 hour ago, insane.warrior said:

Hype!

 
@Eric Roussinwhat about Flask?

1HP or 2HP?

Sorry for not specifying. The KK events are always one-handed.

[Hubgeezer]

10 hours ago, Eric Roussin said:

10th Annual International King Kong Grip Challenge

"The Biggest Grip Sport Contest on the Planet" 

 

For the first time in King Kong history, FIVE events will be contested!

 

 

The Guys Approve. 
 

Signed, 

The Guys

 

I’ve been told the Gals do, too.

 

And The Geezers

Hey, There are a few of us Crones, too!

Don’t forget us either man!

Thanks again Eric.

Hbgzr

Edited February 8, 2022 by Hubgeezer

[Vinnie]

Are there ever grippers in King Kong?

[Climber028]

38 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Are there ever grippers in King Kong?

You can't really compete grippers in a multi-venue contest because all grippers are different. Even if you have the same RGC, the spread and other spring factors would alter the difficulty such that remote comparison of gripper ability is impossible. 

[Eric Roussin]

15 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Are there ever grippers in King Kong?

 

38 minutes ago, Climber028 said:

You can't really compete grippers in a multi-venue contest because all grippers are different. Even if you have the same RGC, the spread and other spring factors would alter the difficulty such that remote comparison of gripper ability is impossible. 

Correct. Very tough to include grippers in a multi-venue contest.

[Vinnie]

28 minutes ago, Climber028 said:

You can't really compete grippers in a multi-venue contest because all grippers are different. Even if you have the same RGC, the spread and other spring factors would alter the difficulty such that remote comparison of gripper ability is impossible. 

I think that is the case for all the implements used (different seasoning, chalking, etc.), but I guess because grippers get numerical ratings it seems like there is more room for error and inconsistency.

[Vinnie]

Just now, Vinnie said:

I think that is the case for all the implements used (different seasoning, chalking, etc.), but I guess because grippers get numerical ratings it seems like there is more room for error and inconsistency.

Well, also harder for each venue to have the same alternatives even if we assumed the ratings were all accurate.  I get it.

[Climber028]

1 hour ago, Vinnie said:

I think that is the case for all the implements used (different seasoning, chalking, etc.), but I guess because grippers get numerical ratings it seems like there is more room for error and inconsistency.

You're right, it's also true for all lifting since all weight plates are different but the variation is smaller and easier to account for. Plus chalking is a skill and that counts towards your ability as a grip athlete and it is up to you to get the most out of each implement within the rules. 

 

It's true really for all sporting events, no track is exactly 400 meters, but the variance is small enough that it can usually be ignored. 

[DAVE101]

21 hours ago, Climber028 said:

You're right, it's also true for all lifting since all weight plates are different but the variation is smaller and easier to account for. Plus chalking is a skill and that counts towards your ability as a grip athlete and it is up to you to get the most out of each implement within the rules. 

 

It's true really for all sporting events, no track is exactly 400 meters, but the variance is small enough that it can usually be ignored. 

To Vinnie's point, the variance in seasoned implements is not small enough that it can be ignored. The difference between a new Euro vs a Chris Rice Euro is dozens of lbs - that is not negligible. You'll never see 400 meter times with that kind of variation.

Edited February 9, 2022 by DAVE101

[Eric Roussin]

35 minutes ago, DAVE101 said:

To Vinnie's point, the variance in seasoned implements is not small enough that it can be ignored. The difference between a new Euro vs a Chris Rice Euro is dozens of lbs - that is not negligible. You'll never see 400 meter times with that kind of variation.

There is without a doubt variance across implements used in a multi-venue contest, but it is a reality we accept for King Kong. Grippers introduce yet another level of complexity that we want to stay away from.

[Climber028]

1 hour ago, DAVE101 said:

To Vinnie's point, the variance in seasoned implements is not small enough that it can be ignored. The difference between a new Euro vs a Chris Rice Euro is dozens of lbs - that is not negligible. You'll never see 400 meter times with that kind of variation.

It is small relative to the variance in grippers. The same model gripper can often vary up to 20% that's gigantic. It's also a skill to properly season an implement and get the best lift possible, this skill is part of what's necessary to be elite and the difference between being a grip athlete and having a strong grip. As a conpetitor you also have many choices such as going to a different venue, providing an implement, running your own leg of the event. You don't have control over all of the grippers and you can't modify one within the rules like you can modify the implements relying on friction. 

[Vinnie]

I accept Eric's explanation.  Point taken, no argument from me that it should be changed.

However, I agree with Dave, too.  There is GREAT variance among implements with the same design, and being good at chalking your implements -- even if it is part of being elite -- is not going to make a new Euro equal to Chris Rice's or Jedd's seasoned one in its results.  I go to Jedd's comps knowing I will get PRs in everything because his implements are better seasoned than the ones I use at home or with friends near home.  I am the same person both times and my results are wildly different, at times even 20 per cent as Mike says of grippers.

Grippers do add another level of complexity, since the promoter would need to offer the same nominal grippers as every other venue, and this would mean not just one implement, but perhaps dozens.  In order to have enough grippers at corresponding RGC ratings at every venue, each promoter would have to spend quite a lot of money to collect the range of difficulties that would be needed, with competitors varying so widely in their max gripper ability from under 100 RGC to over 200 RGC.  If just the model number of gripper were in play, promoters would deliberately seek the lowest rated of each, but also would then be stuck with huge jumps between model numbers.

So after hearing Eric's explanation, I can see why the line might be drawn at grippers, even while tolerating the variance of all the other implements.  I think short of abandoning our multi-venue events, the best we can do is set some rules about which implements will be used and rely on the good faith of promoters that they will not be tampered with (see Rolling Thunder fiasco a few years ago).

I very much like the idea of an annual "Nationals" or "Worlds" where the competitors DO have to make the trip and use the same implements, and it would be great if such events could attract a large enough pool to be meaningful.  So far, I don't think I have ever been to a competition with more than 30 or 40 competitors (Chris Rice's last Gripmas was the biggest one I have attended; maybe high 30s?).  People who really wanted to see, for sure, how they compared to the most elite (and whether they were a part of that group) would just have to show up to find out.  I know I wouldn't be at the top of that result list, but I would go just to see where my numbers fall relative to the top guys when using the very same implements.

 

[Eric Roussin]

1 hour ago, Vinnie said:

I accept Eric's explanation.  Point taken, no argument from me that it should be changed.

However, I agree with Dave, too.  There is GREAT variance among implements with the same design, and being good at chalking your implements -- even if it is part of being elite -- is not going to make a new Euro equal to Chris Rice's or Jedd's seasoned one in its results.  I go to Jedd's comps knowing I will get PRs in everything because his implements are better seasoned than the ones I use at home or with friends near home.  I am the same person both times and my results are wildly different, at times even 20 per cent as Mike says of grippers.

Grippers do add another level of complexity, since the promoter would need to offer the same nominal grippers as every other venue, and this would mean not just one implement, but perhaps dozens.  In order to have enough grippers at corresponding RGC ratings at every venue, each promoter would have to spend quite a lot of money to collect the range of difficulties that would be needed, with competitors varying so widely in their max gripper ability from under 100 RGC to over 200 RGC.  If just the model number of gripper were in play, promoters would deliberately seek the lowest rated of each, but also would then be stuck with huge jumps between model numbers.

So after hearing Eric's explanation, I can see why the line might be drawn at grippers, even while tolerating the variance of all the other implements.  I think short of abandoning our multi-venue events, the best we can do is set some rules about which implements will be used and rely on the good faith of promoters that they will not be tampered with (see Rolling Thunder fiasco a few years ago).

I very much like the idea of an annual "Nationals" or "Worlds" where the competitors DO have to make the trip and use the same implements, and it would be great if such events could attract a large enough pool to be meaningful.  So far, I don't think I have ever been to a competition with more than 30 or 40 competitors (Chris Rice's last Gripmas was the biggest one I have attended; maybe high 30s?).  People who really wanted to see, for sure, how they compared to the most elite (and whether they were a part of that group) would just have to show up to find out.  I know I wouldn't be at the top of that result list, but I would go just to see where my numbers fall relative to the top guys when using the very same implements.

 

I completely agree with your point about Nationals and Worlds. I feel strongly that such contests should only be conducted in a single venue setting, for the reasons you’ve listed.

[DAVE101]

Oh yeah, I'm not trying to argue for including grippers. I think King Kong does a good job in limiting the variance, for example by using aluminum BS Flasks instead of steel Euros for example. However I think we'll have to agree to disagree that one's ability to season implements (or select a venue) makes someone a stronger competitor if what we're really trying to measure is actual grip strength, rather than one's ability to get high numbers at grip comps.

[Climber028]

9 minutes ago, DAVE101 said:

Oh yeah, I'm not trying to argue for including grippers. I think King Kong does a good job in limiting the variance, for example by using aluminum BS Flasks instead of steel Euros for example. However I think we'll have to agree to disagree that one's ability to season implements (or select a venue) makes someone a stronger competitor if what we're really trying to measure is actual grip strength, rather than one's ability to get high numbers at grip comps.

If we were measuring grip strength we would all just use a hand dynamometer and see who gets the highest, but that is not the goal. The goal of a competition is to win, and that doesn't always mean being the strongest even in a strength sport. 

There's a ton of things that go into competing that have nothing to do with how strong you are. What is the right way to warm up, how do you choose your opening weight, how to manage attempts, how big of a jump to make, how do you chalk your hands, what did you eat before the competition. None of those have anything to do with how hard you can squeeze your hands, but if you don't have a plan for them you will perform very poorly. 

[richcottrell]

3 hours ago, Climber028 said:

If we were measuring grip strength we would all just use a hand dynamometer and see who gets the highest, 

But once again, everyone would need to use the same One, and on the same day, with the same location along with date to rule out effects of temperate and humidity….

 

[Chez]

11 hours ago, Vinnie said:

I accept Eric's explanation.  Point taken, no argument from me that it should be changed.

However, I agree with Dave, too.  There is GREAT variance among implements with the same design, and being good at chalking your implements -- even if it is part of being elite -- is not going to make a new Euro equal to Chris Rice's or Jedd's seasoned one in its results.  I go to Jedd's comps knowing I will get PRs in everything because his implements are better seasoned than the ones I use at home or with friends near home.  I am the same person both times and my results are wildly different, at times even 20 per cent as Mike says of grippers.

Grippers do add another level of complexity, since the promoter would need to offer the same nominal grippers as every other venue, and this would mean not just one implement, but perhaps dozens.  In order to have enough grippers at corresponding RGC ratings at every venue, each promoter would have to spend quite a lot of money to collect the range of difficulties that would be needed, with competitors varying so widely in their max gripper ability from under 100 RGC to over 200 RGC.  If just the model number of gripper were in play, promoters would deliberately seek the lowest rated of each, but also would then be stuck with huge jumps between model numbers.

So after hearing Eric's explanation, I can see why the line might be drawn at grippers, even while tolerating the variance of all the other implements.  I think short of abandoning our multi-venue events, the best we can do is set some rules about which implements will be used and rely on the good faith of promoters that they will not be tampered with (see Rolling Thunder fiasco a few years ago).

I very much like the idea of an annual "Nationals" or "Worlds" where the competitors DO have to make the trip and use the same implements, and it would be great if such events could attract a large enough pool to be meaningful.  So far, I don't think I have ever been to a competition with more than 30 or 40 competitors (Chris Rice's last Gripmas was the biggest one I have attended; maybe high 30s?).  People who really wanted to see, for sure, how they compared to the most elite (and whether they were a part of that group) would just have to show up to find out.  I know I wouldn't be at the top of that result list, but I would go just to see where my numbers fall relative to the top guys when using the very same implements.

 

Vin, David horne use to hold a multi venue competition every year called worlds strongest hands and they did have a gripper event. Horne sells the adjustable Vulcan gripper so that was the event for max close and he made a new batch of springs and made sure they were as equal as possible so it can be done but I think that is the best way. This was several years back before you got into grip. David also sells the Vulcan which helped 

[Climber028]

9 hours ago, Chez said:

Vin, David horne use to hold a multi venue competition every year called worlds strongest hands and they did have a gripper event. Horne sells the adjustable Vulcan gripper so that was the event for max close and he made a new batch of springs and made sure they were as equal as possible so it can be done but I think that is the best way. This was several years back before you got into grip. David also sells the Vulcan which helped 

I can get behind this, it's much easier to make a consistent tension spring compared to a torsion spring.

[Chez]

13 minutes ago, Climber028 said:

I can get behind this, it's much easier to make a consistent tension spring compared to a torsion spring.

Yep and it can still be done today cause David still makes the Vulcan. A promoter would just need to reach out to him to make a batch of springs for the competiton they are hosting 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Chez

[DAVE101]

22 hours ago, Climber028 said:

If we were measuring grip strength we would all just use a hand dynamometer and see who gets the highest

That's not a good analogy, as that's only measuring one facet of hand strength.

22 hours ago, Climber028 said:

There's a ton of things that go into competing that have nothing to do with how strong you are. What is the right way to warm up, how do you choose your opening weight, how to manage attempts, how big of a jump to make, how do you chalk your hands, what did you eat before the competition. None of those have anything to do with how hard you can squeeze your hands, but if you don't have a plan for them you will perform very poorly. 

 

Yeah, there's lots of other things you should be doing to optimize your training and performance. That's not what we're talking about. The fact that you get a giant leg up by living near a gym with old rusty equipment makes that competition less legitimate. I'm not talking about King Kong but your idea that competing at a venue with easier implements somehow makes you a better competitor. You're no longer measuring athletic prowess or strategy, you're measuring luck and the size of one's travel budget.

[Climber028]

That's all part of it. If you win a competition, you are the better competitor by definition. It doesn't matter how lucky or unlucky you are, if you're at the top of the list without cheating then that's all that matters. The strongest person doesn't always win in strength sports, and that's life.

 

I'd also like to point out none of this is serious and I have no ill will towards anyone who disagrees, I don't run competitions these are just my opinions and I have no stake in King Kong.